KABUL, APR 06 (DNA) – Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in a scheduled official tour, reached Afghanistan today. Upon his arrival, he was given a guard of honour by a contingent of Afghan National Army (ANA).

The visit marks a link in the sequence of trust-building measures between the countries which started off with General Bajwa’s visit to Afghanistan in February. It was followed by a visit from Secretary of Foreign affairs Ms Tehmina Janjua on Monday to pave the way for PM Abbasi’s tour.

The objective is to discuss the domains of mutual interest including politics, economics, counter-terrorism and the return of Afghan refugees.

Prime Minister will be meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah in the process to build a consensus over issues which have been a bone of contention between neighbours from the past couple of years.

Afghanistan, along with the United States of America, has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harbouring Afghan Taliban within its territory, specifically Haqqani Network. Meanwhile, Pakistan has categorically rejected the accusation, coupling with its own claims that Afghan soil is being used to carry out insurgency within Pakistan. It believes that the leadership of Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, including its chief Mullah Fazlullah, is residing in Afghanistan without any serious repulsion from NATO or Afghan forces. Though various mechanisms have been devised in the past to overcome the existing distrust, nothing has resulted in de-escalation of tension between neighbouring countries.

Afghanistan eyeing on Pakistan to bring the Taliban toward Negotiations

It could also be inferred from the negotiations proposal offered by President Ghani to Afghan Taliban, which was categorically rejected by them, that Afghan officials will put the matter on the agenda of the visit. Pakistan had facilitated a round of dialogue between Afghan Taliban and the government back in 2015, which was eventually sabotaged by a USAF Predator drone strike on their leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor which lead to his death.